Analysis of PDD3 Charges During 2019-2024
Abstract
This report examines charges filed under HRS 712-1243, promoting a dangerous drug in the third degree (PDD3), in Hawaii between 2019 and 2024. We address several questions in this first report:
- Over this six year window, how many PDD3 charges were there and how were they disposed?
- How often are PDD3 charges amended to another offense?
- How often are other charges amended to PDD3?
- How often does PDD3 co-occur with other violent and non-violent offenses?
- How does the average sentence length in PDD3 compare to that in
HRS 291E-61, which addresses operating a vehicle under the influence of an intoxicant known as DUI?
On average, there were about \(1,235\) charges per year that were both filed and disposed (or still pending) under HRS 712-1243, with disposition types roughly evenly distributed between convictions, non-convictions, and other outcomes. The overwhelming majority - \(90\%\) - of PDD3 charges that result in conviction or deferral are not amended to another charge, and few non-PDD3 charges (\(3.6\%\)) are amended to PDD3 at conviction. Moreover, \(67.4\%\) of PDD3 charges are charged along side other offenses, including violent offenses in about \(8.5\%\) of cases. Lastly, we observed that PDD3 charges receive harsher punishment comapred to DUI charges in terms of incarceration time. A comparison of probation was not possible due to the limited number of DUI cases sentenced to probation.
Case I: How often is PDD3 charged and how is it disposed?
Across Hawaii, there were on average \(1,235\) PDD3 charges per year between 2019 and 2024. Importantly, the number of PDD3 charges ranged from a high of \(1,508\) in 2019 to a low of \(986\) in 2024. This analysis strictly looks at the simplest scenario, in which the initial charge is HRS 712-1243 and the final or pending charge is HRS 712-1243 (i.e., it does not include cases where 712-1243 was amended to or from another charge; see Case II and Case III below for more on amended charges). The plot below shows the number of PDD3 charges by year between 2019 and 2024.
Next, we categorized disposition codes into distinct categories and included the conviction status associated with each category. The table and figure below illustrate how these charges were ultimately disposed of.
It is important to note that \(1,281\) charges in the timeframe are missing disposition codes, with \(24.94\%\) of them associated with cases filed in 2024. Many of these are likely still pending although some may reflect missing data (i.e., charges were disposed but no disposition code was entered in JIMS). Whatever the reason, these charges are classified as Not Disposed in our results.
Further note that the Misc category includeds the following disposition codes: ‘NPCF’ (no probable cause found), ‘SA’ (set aside), ‘DSC’ (discharged), ‘STR’ (stricken), ‘MOO’ (moot), ‘NFA’ (no further action), ‘OTH’ (other).
| Charge Code | Disposition Category | Conviction Category | Year | Count |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Charge Code | Disposition Category | Conviction Category | Year | Count |
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To see the relationship between charge at filing and final disposition from another perspective, below is a diagram showing the flow from charges at filing to disposition category. Hover over the nodes or edges for information specific to particular pathways.
Case II: Path from Initial HRS 712-1243 Charge to Final Charge
How often is HRS 712-1243 amended? Here we examine how final charges differ from initial charges when the initial charges filed as HRS 712-1243. It should be noted that this scenario was limited to charges where the disposition category for the final charge was restricted to Finding of Guilt, Guilty Plea, No Contest Plea, and Deferrals and Conditional Discharge.
The following table and plot show the count of charges under each charge code. For ease of presentation, if multiple charge codes were associated with the same Section of Statutes, we combined them under the main Section. The complete list of each group is provided at the end of this report.
As shown, \(90\%\) of HRS 712-1243 initial charges with convictions, deferrals, or conditional discharges were not amended.
| Initial Charge Code | Final Charge Code | Year | Count |
|---|---|---|---|
| Initial Charge Code | Final Charge Code | Year | Count |
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Case III: Path from Initial Charge to Final HRS 712-1243 Charge
How often are often charges amended to HRS 712-1243? Here we examine how final charges under HRS 712-1243 were initially filed. Similar to Case II, this scenario was also limited to charges where the disposition category for the final charge was restricted to Finding of Guilt, Guilty Plea, No Contest Plea, and Deferrals and Conditional Discharge.
The following table and plot show the count of charges under each charge code. For ease of presentation, if multiple charge codes were associated with the same Section of Statutes, we combined them under the main Section. The complete list of each group is provided at the end of this report.
As shown, \(96.4\%\) of HRS 712-1243 final charges were initiated under the same charge code, i.e., HRS 712-1243.
| Initial Charge Code | Final Charge Code | Year | Count |
|---|---|---|---|
| Initial Charge Code | Final Charge Code | Year | Count |
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Case IV: Cases Charged with HRS 712-1243 and other Offenses
Below, we investigate the frequency of cases when PDD3 occurs alone versus when it occurs with other offenses between 2019 and 2024. Specifically, we consider the following scenarios at initial charge:
- Case only includes PDD3 charge(s)
- Case contains PDD3 with violent charge(s)
- Case contains PDD3 with non-violent charge(s)
For violent charges, we included the following offenses:
- Offenses Against the Person (Anything under
HRS 707) - Offenses Against Property Rights, Part V. Robbery (Anything under
HRS 708-84X) - Abuse of Family or Household Members (Anything under
HRS 709-906)
Any charges not listed above were classified as non-violent offenses. It should be noted that some cases may include both violent and non-violent offenses. In such instances, we categorized the case under violent category.
The table below displays the number of cases for each category. According to the data, a majority of cases (\(67.4\%\)) have additional charges alongside PDD3 at filing, including \(58.9\%\) with non-violent offenses and \(8.5\%\) with violent offenses.
| Offense | Number of Cases | Percent |
|---|---|---|
| PDD3 Alone | 2059 | 32.6% |
| PDD3 + Violent Charge | 539 | 8.5% |
| PDD3 + Non-Violent Charge | 3718 | 58.9% |
Case V: Sentencing of HRS 712-1243 versus HRS 291E-61
This scenario compares sentencing length for charges involving PDD3 (HRS 712-1243) and DUI (HRS 291E-61). Here, we considered final charges resulted in conviction. Since there were very few DUI cases involving violent charges, we did not use the same categorization as Case IV to avoid bias in the results. Instead, we categorized cases into two groups: 1) Cases involving only PDD3 or DUI charges, 2) Cases involving PDD3 or DUI charges alongside other offenses. Within each category, we examined the number of PDD3 and DUI charges that resulted in only incarceration, only probation, or both. We then reported the average sentence length for each subcategory.
Due to concerns regarding the accuracy of data in the sentencing table of JIMS database, we manually reviewed approximately \(7\%\) of PDD3 charges and \(2\%\) of DUI charges. The accuracy of the JIMS database for these cases was \(99\%\) for PDD3 charges and \(98\%\) for DUI charges. Given that the manual verification process was based on a limited sample size, we encourage readers to interpret the results with caution.
The table below presents the results of our analysis. We excluded calculations for certain DUI-related entries (charges resulting in only probation or both incarceration and probation) due to the limited number of charges in those categories. These cells are marked with ‘†’. Each column in the table presents statistics for the corresponding charge category. For example, out of \(1,118\) convicted charges in the PDD3 Alone category:
- \(258\) charges (\(23.08\%\)) resulted in only incarceration, with an average sentence lenght of \(1,336.91\) days in prison.
- \(344\) charges (\(30.77\%\)) were sentenced to only probation, with an average term of \(1,438.78\) days.
- \(469\) charges (\(41.95\%\)) received both incarceration and probation, with an average sentence of \(298.02\) days in prison and \(1,425.7\) days on probation.
- \(47\) charges (\(4.2\%\)) did not receive either incarceration or probation.
Overall, PDD3 charges carried significantly harsher incarceration penalties than DUI-related charges. Moreover, when PDD3 or DUI charges were accompanied by other offenses, the resulting incarceration or probation terms were longer compared to cases involving only PDD3 or DUI charges. Another observation is that PDD3 charges receive longer incarceration times when they are sentenced to only incarceration, compared to when they are sentenced to both incarceration and probation.
| Metric | PDD3 Alone | PDD3 + Other Charge(s) | DUI Alone | DUI + Other Charge(s) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Category | |||||
| Resulting Incarceration | Number of Charges (%) | 258 (23.08) | 202 (27.98) | 848 (14.01) | 663 (39.89) |
| Average Time in Days | 1336.91 | 1707.87 | 4.22 | 5.25 | |
| Resulting Probation | Number of Charges (%) | 344 (30.77) | 164 (22.71) | 1 (0.02) | 3 (0.18) |
| Average Time in Days | 1438.78 | 1462.23 | † | † | |
| Resulting both Incarceration and Probation | Number of Charges (%) | 469 (41.95) | 321 (44.46) | 3 (0.05) | 4 (0.24) |
| Average Time in Days (Incarceration, Probation) | (298.02, 1425.7) | (327.62, 1452.32) | † | † | |
| No Incarceration or Probation | Number of Charges (%) | 47 (4.2) | 35 (4.85) | 5202 (85.93) | 992 (59.69) |
| Total | Number of Charges (%) | 1118 (100%) | 722 (100%) | 6054 (100%) | 1662 (100%) |
†: Not calculated due to limited number of charges in that subcategory.
We also provided histograms of incarceration and probation lengths. Unlike the average, which represents a single data point, the histogram offers a more comprehensive view of the data, revealing its distribution and variability. The first plot displays the incarceration length for charges that resulted in only an incarceration sentence. As seen, most PDD3 charges receive \(5\) years of prison time, regardless of whether they co-occur with other charges. In contrast, most DUI charges result in only a few days of jail time. Note that the axes for each plot is different to reflect the varying range and frequency of the corresponding data.
The next plot shows histograms of probation lengths for PDD3 charges that resulted in only a probation term. Most of the charges receive a \(4-\)year probation term, regardless of whether they co-occur with other charges. Note that we did not plot the histogram for DUI charges due to the limited number of cases in this category.
The following figure illustrates histograms of incarceration (top subplots) and probation (bottom subplots) sentence lengths for charges resulting in both incarceration and probation terms. Most charges receive \(1\) year of jail time along with \(4\) years of probation. Again, we did not plot the histogram for DUI charges due to the limited number of cases in this category.
Appendix
Data Processing
The dataset includes all charges recorded between January 1, 2019, and December 31, 2024, where either the initial or final charge fell under HRS 712-1243. Due to multiple entries for each charge in the CDRCCPT table of the JIMS database, we applied the following logic to determine the initial and final charges:
- If a charge ID had only one entry, it was considered both the initial and final charge.
- If a charge ID had two entries where one of them had
nulland the other one hadAas theriCDRCCPT_MAINT_CODEvalue:- The entry with
AasCDRCCPT_MAINT_CODEwas considered as initial charge. - The entry with
nullasCDRCCPT_MAINT_CODEwas considered final charge.
- The entry with
- If a charge ID had two or more entries where one of them had
nulland the rest hadCasCDRCCPT_MAINT_CODEvalue, the entry withnullis both initial and final charge.
It should be noted that \(44\) charges did not meet the criteria outlined above and were therefore excluded from the analysis.
Charge Code Groups for Case II
Below is the list of charge codes associated with each group for the final charge codes in Case II.
| Group | Final Charge Code |
|---|---|
| HRS 329-43.5s | HRS 329-43.5, HRS 329-43.5(a) |
| HRS 710-1018s | HRS 710-1018, HRS 710-1018(1) |
| HRS 712-1246.5s | HRS 712-1246.5, HRS 712-1246.5(1) |
| HRS 712-1248s | HRS 712-1248, HRS 712-1248(1)(b), HRS 712-1248(1)(c) |
| HRS 712-1249s | HRS 712-1249, HRS 712-1249(1) |
| HRS 712-1250s | HRS 712-1250, HRS 712-1250(1)(a) |
Charge Code Groups of Case III
Below is the list of charge codes associated with each group for the initial charge codes in Case III.
| Group | Initial Charge Code |
|---|---|
| HRS 712-1241s | HRS 712-1241(1)(a), HRS 712-1241(1)(a)(i), HRS 712-1241(1)(b)(i), HRS 712-1241(1)(b)(ii)(A) |
| HRS 712-1242s | HRS 712-1242, HRS 712-1242(1)(a), HRS 712-1242(1)(b), HRS 712-1242(1)(b)(i), HRS 712-1242(1)(b)(ii), HRS 712-1242(1)(c) |